Alberto Frausin is honoured for his contribution to the promotion of Danish values as Managing Director of Carlsberg Italia.

During a visit to Rome by HRH Crown Prince Frederik and HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Alberto Frausin, Managing Director of Carlsberg Italia, was awarded His Royal Highness Prince Henrik's Medal of Honour by the Crown Prince and the Diploma of the Danish Export Association for his contribution to the promotion of Danish values including among other things the roll-out of the Carlsberg Group's DraughtMaster™ technology across Italy.

The Diploma of the Danish Export Association and HRH Prince Henrik's Medal of Honour are awarded to companies or individuals in recognition of an outstanding effort in promoting Danish products and services abroad. Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, was the husband of HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and father of HRH Crown Prince Frederik.

'I'm honoured to be receiving HRH Prince Henrik's Medal of Honour from the Danish Crown Prince and very proud to have promoted DraughtMaster™, which has now become a strategic focus for the entire Group. The story of the Carlsberg Group's DraughtMaster™ system reminds me of Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling, a Danish fairy tale about a plain little duckling who turned out to be a beautiful swan,' says Alberto Frausin, Managing Director, Carlsberg Italy.

Flemming Besenbacher, Chairman of the Board, represented the Carlsberg Group at the ceremony.

'It's a great honour for me to celebrate this day with Alberto. The DraughtMaster™ system is a true landmark in beer technology, invented at our Laboratory in Denmark, but turned into a global opportunity by Alberto. Today, it is an important part of our Group strategy and an illustration of the Laboratory's importance to the Group and our industry,' says Flemming Besenbacher.

'Since the Carlsberg Group's founder established the Laboratory in 1876, the purpose of its research has been to develop beer of the highest possible quality and provide a model for brewing in Denmark and the rest of the world. The DraughtMaster™ invention delivers on this ambition, providing improved quality and less food waste. This is good for our customers, good for consumers and good for the Carlsberg Group,' says Flemming Besenbacher.

Up until the 1930s, wood was the only material commonly used for beer casks. Wooden casks then started giving way to stainless steel kegs, and in the early 1960s aluminum alloys were introduced as a lighter substitute. DraughtMaster™ is a compact draught beer dispenser that uses smaller 20-litre PET kegs instead of steel kegs. The self-cleaning system requires only water, a power supply, drainage and space for installation, with CO2 replaced by an inbuilt air compressor, ensuring fresh beer and zero waste. Compared with steel kegs, DraughtMaster™ significantly extends shelf life. Steel kegs have an average shelf life of around one week, while DraughtMaster™ will keep beer fresh for 31 days.

The technology was invented at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory in the late 1990s by R&D scientist and Innovation Manager Jan Nørager Rasmussen. In 2006, it was trialed in small restaurants and for home use. It was relaunched in Italy in 2015 and became part of the Carlsberg Group's seven-year strategy, SAIL'22, in 2016.

Currently, 95% of the Carlsberg Group's Italian on-trade customers are using the DraughtMaster™ technology, and the system will be fully implemented in Denmark by mid-2019. The roll-out is being accelerated all over Europe, and other markets are being investigated with a view to further expanding implementation of the technology.